Is there a problem with my electricty or my long life bulbs

[carlyon bay]

Is there a problem with my electricity? I noticed when I slept in our spare bedroom that when in complete darkness the long life light bulb comes on a intermittent basis it comes on with a very low glow for a second or two this continued all night i've taken the decsion to switch off the power to this room as a precaution any one know what the problem could be

[jomifl]

is the bulb in a ceiling light fitting or plugged into a wall socket.?

[Coldicote]

I also have had problems with so-called long life bulbs and think 'long life' is a misnomer. Was your light actually switched off and have you tried an ordinary bayonet fitting bulb? If so and there is still a problem then, to be on the safe side, I suggest you get an electrician to check it. Good luck!

[carlyon bay]

normal drop light from the ceiling

[carlyon bay]

I have just put an ordinary baynet fitting light bulb in and it does not ficker like the long life bulb i have also put a new long life bulb in and that started the same intermittent flickering

[The Builder]

The "easy" answer could be that your switch is switching the neutral rather than the phase live, which would mean the bulb is getting a permanent live.
Maybe the switch is getting old and arcing across the contacts.
Being a fluorescent, maybe there's a capacitor in there that's leaking slightly (unlikely if you still get the problem with a new bulb)
It's rather like using those cheap mains testing screwdrivers. Electricians don't like them because they can give a "false positive"